With hundreds of millions of people watching gaming content on YouTube every single day, will Google really be able to make this platform a clear winner in a very different market?
Launching in the later months of 2019 in the UK, Google has created a console that boasts many new features to console gaming, such as: higher quality streaming rates, a quicker boot up and the ability to launch games from most android devices, such as phones and even TVs. The user can jump straight into 1080p game play from any device using this console.
Firstly, how much will you own as a player? Well, if you’re used to purchasing physical copies of your games and not using services like Steam, this may seem like a bit of a jump into the unknown. The difference is between buying and licensing a game. When you buy it in disc form, it’s yours – forever. However, when we buy games online, we are buying the license to use it, when these licenses change; they can affect our games. Showing us how tenuous these purchases can be. I will be very interested to see how Google combats this, giving players a better sense of security with each purchase.
Secondly, how easy will this be to play in reality? Most gamers know how frustrating it is to be playing your favourite game in an online capacity and suddenly your team is further ahead than you thought, or you can’t loot that item. Lag – the one word that physically makes me recoil. The dreaded delay in game that could cost you everything. How will Google combat the difficulty of streaming high-end games online? According to Google, the Stadia controller connects directly to Google servers, meaning that it works separately from any other hardware. Hopefully, offering a cure all to the cursed lag and allowing players to enjoy their games even in peak times.
In demonstrations of the Stadia, boot up times are non-existent. Players press a button and hey presto, there is game play. It’s genuinely amazing to see. They also unveiled a completely different format, merging YouTube and gaming once and for all. When watching a video on YouTube (their example was Assassin’s Creed) you will be able to press a button to purchase and play that content in as quick as five whole seconds. Other consoles as of yet, do not have this capability. This gaming platform is not limited to console form and I am excited to see what game developers could do without restriction and what worlds we could open with this innovation.
Will this new platform create a different experience for gamers? Google seems to think so. I can’t wait to see it for myself.
by Leah Slowinksi
